Author Archives: Horizon

Autumn Wind’s “The Tale of the Three Alicorn Sisters”

14 Friday Aug 2015

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In today’s story, dive into the depths of history to find a familiar legend distorted by time.

tale-of-3-sistersThe Tale of the Three Alicorn Sisters
[Slice of Life] • 1,064 words

A classical Equestrian fable, passed from mouth to mouth; from quill to page. The children of yore are the parents of today, and as they grow and change, so does the classic tale. Let us explore this tale as it may one day be known.

In the magical land of Equestria, three regal alicorn sisters rule for the good of their subjects, all the types of ponies, until one day, the shadow of jealousy comes upon one of them. How will the three sisters deal with this? Will harmony be lost forever?

Open the storybook, reader, and let us find out.

FROM THE CURATORS: “So, the premise of this story is basically ‘now that Twilight’s a princess, how will the legend of the two sisters change and mutate over the next few centuries?'” Chris said as he nominated this story.  “Right off the bat, I love the premise.”  He wasn’t alone.  “Not only do I like the premise, I like how the views of the princesses seemed to have changed over time,” JohnPerry said, and Horizon added: “The big thing right here is the recontextualization of the legend, in a way that feels authentic to both the show’s events and the show’s internal framing of its core myth.”

While a good idea is enough to draw eyeballs into the story, it was the solid execution of that idea which won us over.  “Celestia seems less divine and just as petty and flawed as Luna, and even Twilight has an arc,” JohnPerry said. “Reworking the classic legend into a completely different moral is a stroke of genius.”  Horizon felt it was stronger for taking a broad view: “It would have been easy to write a ‘Twilight saved Luna’ surface retelling, but this captures all of the trio’s failings and lessons.”  And Chris was impressed with the way the story reflected on the world which told it: “Fairy tales are inevitably products of their times and need to be understood as such,” he said. “The way this story shows us how Twilight and the girls have changed (and will change) Equestria for the better is empowering, deliciously subtle, and open to interpretation.”

Ultimately, the tale was quite moving despite its minimal size.  “I love that, despite essentially compressing the first two episodes of the show and glossing over all the details, the tale of redemption still drew a sincere emotional reaction from me,” Present Perfect said, while Horizon noted: “It packs some big ideas into its thousand words.”

Read on for our author interview, in which Autumn Wind discusses orphaned plotlines, rainbow factories, and humble goddesses.
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IceOfWaterflock’s “The Mare Who Fell In Love With The Wind”

07 Friday Aug 2015

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Although today’s story is a tragedy, you can fall in love with it without any regrets.

mare-who-fellThe Mare Who Fell In Love With The Wind
[Romance] [Tragedy] • 3,806 words

Once upon a time, a Princess was alone in her crystal palace, and she sang to the wind in her sorrow. But when the wind is a Windigo, the wind sings back.

FROM THE CURATORS: The first thing you’ll notice about this multi-part fic is its small size — six chapters in less than 4,000 words — and that was one of the factors that turned our heads.  “This story shows how to do more with less,” Chris said. “It’s a bare, almost spartan storytelling style, and I thought it did a great job of showing the strengths of that type of writing.”  Horizon agreed: “IceOfWaterflock shows a deft touch in keeping us flipping the page.  This is exceptionally economical storytelling.”

What that storytelling skill presented was, in JohnPerry’s words, “a genuinely engaging story with a classic star-crossed lovers premise and a great fairy tale feel in places.”  While — as Present Perfect noted — “the fairy tale structure really helps it along,” it went beyond those roots.  Chris’ nomination offered an idea of the breadth it was able to pack in: “Even as it builds a fairytale romance, spins a history of the Crystal Empire, and speculates on the nature of windigoes, this slim fic doesn’t resort to clunky exposition or asides.”

The core fairy tale, meanwhile, inspired several comparisons to the classics.  “This is the Brothers Grimm version of the Fall of the Crystal Empire,” Horizon said.  “It’s almost ‘Biblical Monsters‘ dark — and it’s made a hell of a lot darker with a little fridge thought about what canon shows us in modern times — but it carries its own weight.”  AugieDog went even further back: “With so much of the show being inspired by Greek myth, I’m surprised to think that this might be the first fanfic I’ve seen that really visits that same well.  And that it’s sort of a pony version of ‘Iphigenia in Aulis‘ just makes me grin.”

Read on for our author interview, in which IceOfWaterflock discusses therapeutic stories, immortal robots, and Bermuda Triangle dragons.
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Kaorin’s “Selling Out”

31 Friday Jul 2015

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Today’s story reminds us that the one constant in life is change — so keep your coin purse close by when you pay with a big bill.

Selling Out
[Slice of Life] • 2,361 words

When the time of monarchs and royals ends, what becomes of Princesses who live on?

FROM THE CURATORS: This is exactly what it says on the tin — a story about a pony coming to grips with modern capitalism.  We started out worried that such a premise seemed like a recipe for soapboxing, but this story quickly vaulted past those doubts to unanimous approval. As JohnPerry said, “I think it says something when a story gives you a premise that’s hard to swallow, but still manages to impress you.”

The biggest factor in that was Selling Out’s arresting portrayal of its protagonist. “The voicing really is the draw,” Present Perfect said, and JohnPerry was more broadly appreciative: “The characterization of Luna is absolutely marvelous, and the larger historical landscape this story merely touches upon is very intriguing.”  Horizon, meanwhile, found the two sides of Luna poignantly juxtaposed: “The contrast in tone between her regal narration and her out-loud dialogue is proper heartbreaking.”

It wasn’t only the characterization that impressed us, but also its excellent choice of character.  “Seeing Luna in this situation, harboring all of her pride and past hurts, is so much more heartbreaking than seeing Celestia, or Cadance, or even Twilight would be,” Present Perfect said.  “Luna’s the one who’s already fallen once, and she fell so much further than this.” The story’s nuanced portrayal of the world around her sealed the deal. “What strikes me the most is the ‘long view’ of Equestrian society,” AugieDog said.  “Yes, ponies will learn and grow and discover new and different things, but they will always be ponies.  And their princesses will always be there when they’re needed — even if what they’re needed for changes and shrinks and grows back differently as the pendulum of the centuries swings to and fro.”

Ultimately, by treading a careful path across the razor’s-edge of modern cynicism, Selling Out left us with a thought-provoking message. “The idea of balancing duty, pride, and commercialism is one that’s more applicable to many of our real-life idols than we might like to admit,” Chris said.

Read on for our author interview, in which Kaorin discusses technological singularity, paycheck relevance, and post-apotheosis continuations.
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adcoon’s “The Big Butterfly Brouhaha”

24 Friday Jul 2015

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Take a wild, whimsical wander through a fairy tale, a literal fairy tale, in this Friday’s featured fic.

butterfly-brouhahaThe Big Butterfly Brouhaha
[Random] [Adventure] • 14,839 words

“Have you seen a butterfly around here?” I asked Derpy one day. Next thing I don’t even know, we’re saving Equestria from the fairies in Fluttershy’s chicken coop!

FROM THE CURATORS: From the moment, from the moment that you first lay eyes on this story and its unique storytelling, it will be obvious that you’re in for an experience. “I’m not sure if the narrative style is brilliant or completely bonkers (or both), but it definitely fits the spirit of this story,” JohnPerry said.  We weren’t unanimous fans of the style, but the clear consensus was best expressed by Present Perfect: “The appropriate emoticon for this story is somewhere between o.O and :D.  By the second sentence, I was in love.”

That narration is in service of a compelling melding of MLP with an older and wilder mythology. “It’s a fairy tale, at its core, but a vividly Equestrian one — full of the strangely-ruled magic and mysterious fey-creatures which are the hallmark of such tales, but placed carefully in a setting where magic is practically mundane,” Chris said.  That combined with a clever sense of wordplay to engage us with prose as well as plot.  “There were many moments in this story where I found myself caught between a desire to laugh out loud and smack my forehead,” JohnPerry said. “‘The gigglers, now turned yellers, are riding hummers’ was one of them.”

However, despite the story’s wide list of strengths, our commentary kept returning to the narration.  “it sounds like music! It’s astounding!” Present Perfect said.  “The little rhymes, the repetition … there’s a certain timeless poetry about this that doesn’t preclude character or plot.”  Chris agreed: “It’s playful, lively, and shows a delightful interplay between narrator and reader without becoming too condescending or grating.”  In the end, all we could do was marvel — and offer this Random-tagged tale a well-deserved feature. “What amazes me is that there’s so much here that clashes, that by all rights shouldn’t work, yet somehow comes across as very natural,” JohnPerry said. “Discord would be pleased.”

Read on for our author interview, in which adcoon discusses loyalty, passion, necessity, and a raccoon-based muffin obsession.
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archonix’s “To Be A Mule”

17 Friday Jul 2015

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Today’s story is about the lines that we tell ourselves should not be crossed.

to-be-a-muleTo Be A Mule
[Sad] [Slice of Life] • 2,983 words

She smiles at him every time she comes to visit the stately home where he works as a gardener, but Dilly Daliér has never spoken to her.

Nor will he ever.

Because he’s a mule and she’s a unicorn, and those are the rules.

FROM THE CURATORS: “This is a short, sad story about institutionalized racism in Equestria,” Present Perfect said when nominating it. “You’ve got regret, longing, and societal pressures balled up into a neat little package.”

That sparked quite an interesting debate over this story’s presentation of discrimination.  “This story certainly feels like an antebellum South metaphor,” Horizon observed, and JohnPerry chimed in: “It’s always good to find a story that deals with the matter of racism without whitewashing it.”  On the other hoof, Chris pointed out: “It’s not really a story about racism; it’s a story about class.  If Daliér and his dad were earth ponies, they would’ve said that was the uncrossable divide. … The problem isn’t that ‘those kind of ponies’ don’t marry mules; it’s that ‘those kind of ponies’ don’t marry anyone who isn’t ‘those kind of ponies.'”  AugieDog found some middle ground: “Whether it’s about species or race or class, this story is very much about ‘being the outsider,’ about looking in at a group whose opinion of yourself you accept as being more true than your own opinion of yourself.”

Those themes are embodied in a pair of OCs whose layered characterization gave us plenty to dig into.  “I understand why the father personally would stick around as a gardener, but it seems almost like he’s actively trying to force his son away from anything that will make him happy or successful,” Chris said, and JohnPerry argued: “The elder donkey, far from coming across as unenlightened or callous, actually sounds pragmatic and sympathetic. … That illustrates how that divide is often self-enforced through the collective fears or indifference of those who are affected by it.”

As should be obvious from how much the story’s central idea engaged us, we found the depth of To Be A Mule exemplary; that and its clean writing sent it to a feature. “There’s not a whole lot else to say about it, other than it does what it sets out to very well,” Present Perfect said, while JohnPerry was more effusive: “If there’s any complaint I have of this story, it’s that I wanted more at the end. So if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go read the sequels.”

Read on for our author interview, in which archonix discusses statuesque sacrifices, fanfiction dating, and the two types of reading.
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Sharp Spark’s “A Stallion for the Time Being”

10 Friday Jul 2015

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Today’s story just might transform you into a fan of unusual romance.

stallion-for-timeA Stallion For The Time Being
[Romance] [Comedy] • 21,026 words

Minuette is determined to have a nice date with a nice stallion, no matter what that takes.

Twilight Sparkle just wants her to stop wreaking havoc on the time-space continuum.

Things get complicated.

FROM THE CURATORS: “This is the sort of story that could only come out of fanfiction,” Horizon observed as this story was collecting a rare unanimous approval from our team. “The complete absence of non-brain-damaged stallions in Ponyville creates a sequence of events which leads to Twilight Sparkle turning herself into a stallion for a date.  Yes, it’s a textbook Rule 63 romance … but it’s a magnificent mix of earnest and ridiculous; both tones are applied with precision, and the two never get in each other’s way.”

R63 romances have a reputation for shallow fanservice, but there was so much else to like that this drew us all in — even as we disagreed on its strongest features. “The comedy was, for me, the real highlight here … even as it shifts more toward romance in the second half, it never abandons its essential goofiness,” Chris said, and AugieDog seconded that: “Fun all around.”  Present Perfect appreciated the story’s subtle profundity: “I love the ‘what is Twilight the princess of?’ joke, and I adore how much this ends up being about her wrestling with princesshood,” he said.  Horizon loved the prose: “Little touches like the internal monologue over pronouns are highlights of great voicing throughout.”  And, as JohnPerry pointed out, the central story was excellently executed as well.  “Brilliant comedy, with some gentle prods at shipping tropes, and a heartfelt, realized romance to boot,” he said. “This is a story that excels at both its tagged genres.”

All this from a story that started life as a whimsical exploration of the title’s double meaning. “The origin of the title (explained in the Author’s Note in the epilogue) is astounding, and just goes to show what you can accomplish if you’re willing to look at things in a novel light,” Present Perfect said.  We were all impressed by that, but Chris put it most eloquently: “It’s almost the opposite of episode 100.  Rather than take something that, at its best, is heartfelt, and make a joke of it, A Stallion for the Time Being takes a joke of a premise, and makes something heartfelt from that.”

Read on for our author interview, in which Sharp Spark discusses pulp changelings, Type II fun, and President Lyndon B. Johnson.
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Bronetheus’ “Waiting For Celestia”

03 Friday Jul 2015

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If you’re looking for some comedy with a philosophical twist, don’t wait to read today’s story.

waiting-for-celestiaWaiting For Celestia
[Comedy] [Slice of Life] • 6,056 words

After Celestia takes her flying chariot to Ponyville to have an important talk with the new Princess Twilight Sparkle, she teleports back to Canterlot … leaving her charioteers behind. Unsure what else to do in the wake of this improbable, nay, highly unusual, nay, nay, impossible event, the two pegasi have a conversation that leads them to some startling revelations.

FROM THE CURATORS: Appearances can be deceiving with fanfiction — and in this case, there were pleasant surprises behind the façade of the title.  “I’ve never actually seen Waiting for Godot, but this isn’t really a crossover with it, so no worries on that front,” Chris said.  “What it is is a story that moves from absurd comedy to crisis-of-faith in barely 6000 words, and is both funny and thoughtful where it needs to be.”  Present Perfect agreed, adding: “I’m very glad that the author decided to invoke Godot just long enough to subvert it, then put in some actual plot.”

Subverting its source material was a point in Waiting For Celestia’s favor, but it didn’t stop there — and one of the factors in its feature was how memorably it made the tale its own. “It’s been more than a year since I last saw this story, but all its scenes stuck in my notoriously sieve-like brain,” AugieDog said.  Even its send-up of the titular absurdist play was a joy to read: “The image of how the guards communicated while guarding the chariot was, alone, enough to get me liking this story,” Horizon said.

But ultimately, the story’s stand-out feature was the way it first balanced, then merged, the comedy and philosophy, which at first seemed destined for an ungainly collision. “Not only was I engaged all the way through, but I found the ending surprisingly impactful,” JohnPerry said.  “The earlier discussion on the omniscience of Celestia came back in a big way, such that it turned the absurdist nature of the set-up into a surprisingly grounded tale.”  That light touch with philosophy was praised by several curators. “Waiting For Celestia doesn’t try to tackle something as weighty as ‘what does it mean to be seen as deific by those who serve you’ in its entirety, but instead confined itself to what that meant for two ponies, for one night,” Chris said.  “Sometimes, keeping things small is the right way to go.”

Read on for our author interview, in which Bronetheus discusses altruistic struggles, pony charity, and mythic trees.
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zaponator’s “Blink”

26 Friday Jun 2015

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Today’s story is one to pop onto your reading list.

blinkBlink
[Slice of Life] • 3,947 words

Twilight does some research into her tried and true teleportation spell.

FROM THE CURATORS: On one level, this story is about pulling back the curtains on an unsettling implication of teleportation — one that’s going to be familiar to longtime fans of speculative fiction.  But there’s more to like here.  “This is more than a ‘one idea’ fic,” Chris said. “It doesn’t just stop at the (easily predictable) reveal, nor does it it follow that up with a bunch of wangsting and/or an immediate descent into insanity.”  JohnPerry was similarly impressed by Blink’s nuanced approach: “Deliciously dark, without resorting to an unnecessarily tragic ending.”

What ultimately propelled Blink to a feature, however, was the presentation of its central characters. “The handling of the characters throughout is superb,” JohnPerry said. “Spike and Twilight’s dialogue at the beginning was delightful … it’s a great examination of their relationship and underlines the importance of it, but without dwelling on it too intensely.”  Chris agreed: “The setup helps sell the ending, and makes this a true story about Twilight and Spike, not just an event that happens to involve them.”

The combination of those two factors made this feel like an authentically pony story, despite the dark sci-fi flavor of the core idea.  “It gives me shivers on a level I’ve not experienced much before in fanfic: the ‘that could have been so much worse’ level,” Present Perfect said. “That it wasn’t speaks volumes about how well this spellcrafting headcanon fits into the show.”

Read on for our author interview, in which zaponator discusses sticky names, mutual caregiving, and unintended debate.
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Chopper’s Top Hat’s “The Liar”

19 Friday Jun 2015

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In today’s interview, Chopper’s Top Hat discusses authorial flirting, sideways Cardassian, and a classic Trixie tale that’s all about reversing our expectations.

the-liar The Liar
[Sad] [Adventure] • 5,572 words

The magician’s art lies in the act of misdirection. This is true even in a world where magic exists. Trixie has mastered the art, but how much of her act is true magic, and how much is an illusion? And what if that same question applies to her entire life?

Discover the truth about Equestria’s most Great and Powerful showpony, in a story told in a most unconventional manner…

FROM THE CURATORS: Today’s story is a blast from the past in two different ways — not only was it written in the earliest days of the fandom, but it was also one of the first stories that the Royal Canterlot Library ever voted to feature.  We shelved it for years due to being unable to locate the author, but having recently stumbled across Chopper’s Top Hat again, we’re pleased to unearth this classic for modern audiences.

Given that history, it’s quite fitting that this story digs into Trixie’s backstory with a unique backwards storytelling style.  “I still love this for one simple reason: it takes a narrative device which could easily backfire, and uses it cleverly and effectively,” Chris said.  Former curator Benman agreed — “The gimmick works as intended, which is really impressive, and it’s actually necessary to telling this particular story” — and Present Perfect also concurred: “It builds up … and the gimmick works with that; it wouldn’t have the same effect read chronologically.”

One thing we did disagree on — which speaks well for the quality of the story — was which part we enjoyed the most.  “The first chunk is really cool.  The reverse chronology thing keeps adding new information that illuminates and recontextualizes the previous content,” Benman said, while Horizon took the opposite tack: “It all felt necessary to give the ending its powerful thematic closure.”  Chris, meanwhile, appreciated the act of reading it: “Figuring out how the story hangs together is really the fun here.”  Overall, it added up to quite a solid package, as Horizon noted: “It has aged really well.”

(Today’s story can be found here, but first, continue below the break for our author interview.)
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Noble Thought’s “Under a Tree”

12 Friday Jun 2015

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Like the titular tree of today’s story, this farmer’s tale has deep roots.

Under a Tree
[Slice of Life] • 13,558 words

Applejack tells Fluttershy about the great oak tree atop a hill on the farm. It was the first one she ever planted, y’see. That doesn’t have anything to do with why Granny Smith is in the hospital, and why Applejack isn’t there.

Nope. Not at all.

FROM THE CURATORS: This is a story that has had our attention through multiple iterations, starting out as a shortfic of under 4,000 words before being expanded into the larger multi-chapter story it is today. We have Bradel to thank for introducing it to us: “I’m a sucker for a good AJ story and a good grief narrative, so this is in my wheelhouse.”

“This is a story told in negatives,” Present Perfect pointed out. “Applejack doesn’t want to talk about what’s really bothering her, so she talks about her first time planting a tree. Said tree wasn’t an apple tree, but an oak. It’s a story just as much about Fluttershy as about AJ, but it focuses entirely on the latter.” Bradel put it thusly: “What I really love about this story is the tension between foreground and background. … Although the story never seeks to hide what it’s doing, its impact is delivered through metaphor and implication rather than direct engagement, through paralleling Applejack’s stories with her state of mind.”

But what really sold the curators was the dynamic between this story’s two main characters. “The meat of the story packs a punch, and the interactions between Fluttershy and AJ felt genuine,” Chris said. “The real triumph is the conversation. Rather than drop the current setting to skip back into the past, Applejack’s story-within-the-story is spoken, with fits and starts that make it feel naturally told without being unfocused,” Present offered, and Bradel added, “I enjoy how the story forces Fluttershy and Applejack to trade roles — here, Applejack is the avoidant one and Fluttershy is the more direct one. I find all the narrative subversion going on in this story really delicious.”

Read on for our author interview, in which Noble Thought discusses long commutes, character growth, and rewriting.
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