Author Archives: Horizon

DawnFade’s “Alabaster”

14 Friday Feb 2014

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Today’s story is a short, potent look at losing a loved one who hasn’t gone anywhere.

Alabaster
[Sad] [Slice of Life] • 2,165 words

Vinyl Scratch visits her father.

FROM THE CURATORS: Our mission at the RCL is to find stories which truly stand out as exemplars of what pony fanfiction can be — whether that means exceptional wordsmithing, clever approaches to canon, deep worldbuilding, etc.  Alabaster cut right through that to grab our attention with how bluntly evocative it is.  “This feels genuine,” Present Perfect said.  Chris agreed: “Either the author’s writing from experience, or there was a major investment of empathy in this fic.”

We also noted the sure hand of its laconic prose.  “Its biggest strength is the way it knows exactly how much detail to show,” Ben said, and Chris added, “It’s the little things, like where she’s feeling frustrated at the pleasant-but-generic items the staff puts out, that elevate this from ‘generic sadfic’ to ‘potentially cathartic.'”

Read on for our interview, in which DawnFade discusses forgetting and reveals the reason behind the story’s title.
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New Curator

11 Tuesday Feb 2014

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One of our curators, Vimbert, stepped down recently. Bradel has joined the team in his place.

Vimbert has been moving away from the fandom due to outside events, and we’ll miss him both as a colleague and as a friend. His influence will continue here for a while yet, since he had a hand in selecting many of the stories that are currently in our queue.

At the same time, we’re excited to have Bradel with us. He has the skill and experience to select excellent stories, and is an all-around excellent person. It won’t be long before you see his contributions in the Library.

Cold in Gardez’ “Lost Cities”

07 Friday Feb 2014

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Put on your pith helmet and shoulder your saddlebags: today’s story is an expedition into rarely explored corners of the literary map, teasing out stories of ancient lives from lifeless artifacts and crumbling structures.

lost-citiesLost Cities
[Slice-of-Life] • 6,859 words

North of Canterlot, in the far marches of the Equestrian lands near the border with the Griffon tribes, there is a mountain that flies.

West of Canterlot, beyond the Galloping Mountains and a desert painted in the pastel hues of a faded rainbow, a tower sits at the edge of the world.

South of Canterlot, past the Everfree forest and the desolate badlands, a city of gardens waits to be born.

FROM THE CURATORS: If you’ve never had the chance for tourism at ancient ruins — staring at fragments of walls reclaimed from nature’s grasp while a tour guide weaves you tales of the people who built them — this does a remarkable job of drawing you into that experience.  Its four chapters are nothing but bones of the past, presented with archaeological-style commentary and some hints toward the greater sweep of history, but are remarkable reading nonetheless.

“I really admired how Gardez was able to create a compelling story without a single character present in the work,” Vimbert said.  “I don’t usually go for stories that employ such writing gimmicks, but there’s a rich tapestry of suggested history in these words. A lesser author would f**k it all up.”

Horizon agreed: “This is the Spoon River Anthology of MLP scenery-porn.”

Read on for our interview, in which Cold in Gardez discusses recursive inspiration, Rarity’s difference from the other Mane Six, and the essential humanity of ponies.
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xjuggernaughtx’s “Diary of a Pliant Tyrant”

31 Friday Jan 2014

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On the heels of an episode bringing everyone’s favorite draconequus into Season 4, today’s story is a reminder of what we all love about fanfic — how it can embrace and extend the show, and explore the depths of the characters we enjoy.

pliant-tyrantDiary of a Pliant Tyrant
[Comedy] [Slice-of-Life] • 16,437 words

It’s funny what an idle slip of the tongue can lead to. When Discord makes an off-hand comment to Fluttershy about the mental diary he kept when encased in stone, she begs him to continue it. She says it will be “therapeutic”, but he’s sure it’ll be a real bore. But who can resist those puppy-dog eyes and a bribe of fresh cookies? Grudgingly, he takes up a pencil to document his thoughts and experiences in his new life. A life among his old enemies. A life he never wanted.

FROM THE CURATORS: Like Pinkie Pie, Discord is one of MLP’s most difficult characters to write well — all too often he’s inserted as a soulless source of randomness or an excuse to break the fourth wall.  This fic (which is the sequel to Diary Of A Silent Tyrant, but works beautifully as a standalone story) earned its feature based on one of the strongest characterizations we’ve collectively seen anywhere in the fandom.

“I heard pretty much the whole story in John de Lancie’s voice as I read it,” Vimbert said.  “Discord’s voice is pitch-perfect,” Present Perfect added.  “The characterization of Discord is remarkable,” Horizon agreed.

That magnificent voice is wrapped in a solid plot arc about redemption and friendship, with plenty of hilarious and poignant moments along the way.  It’s lengthier than the average short story, but “it was never not interesting,” Present Perfect said.  “The story has a lot of unexpected heart at the end,” Vimbert added.

Read on for our interview, in which xjuggernaughtx discusses Pinkie Pie protectiveness, MLP’s life-changing effects, and how to get into Discord’s head.
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Bad Horse’s “The Magician And The Detective”

24 Friday Jan 2014

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Today’s story presents a uniquely Equestrian interpretation of a singularly brilliant sleuth — and there’s more at stake here than a mystery to solve.

magician-detectiveThe Magician And The Detective
[Romance] [Sad] [Crossover] [Adventure] • 14,685 words

To Holmes, she is always the mare.  In his eyes she eclipses the whole of her sex, and fills him with admiration and loathing.  Whether she in fact stole the Starry Night was ultimately beside the point.  What mattered to Holmes was that he had been matched at his own game, by a mare; that it had not been altogether unpleasant; and that she had caused him, however briefly, to turn his keen and unflinching gaze upon himself.

FROM THE CURATORS: “If this were just one of Doyle’s Holmes stories, it’d ‘just’ be good,” Chris said — but this story goes well beyond that, and impressed us enough for a rare unanimous approval.

Beyond the mystery, there’s also a deep deconstruction of both MLP’s and Doyle’s characters, which brings them to life in a way few stories manage.  “It’s got so much to say about its characters I think in some ways I’m still processing it,” Horizon said.  Chris added, “The interpretation of Trixie really sells it for me.  She deftly walks the line between sympathetic and antagonistic.”

The twists of the final chapters also spurred high praise.  “The phrase Tour de Force gets tossed around far too often, but I’d absolutely describe this fic’s end as such,” Chris said.

Read on for our interview, in which Bad Horse discusses interactive literature, Sherlock Holmes’ class consciousness, and a writing tip well worth repeating.
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Insert Pen Name’s “The Fight for Cranberry Hill”

17 Friday Jan 2014

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Today’s story is breezy, lighthearted, and utterly endearing.  Moreover, it’s a perfect complement to the winter season in which we’re now embroiled, and a refreshingly fun look at childhood–and the tribulations which spring therefrom.

cranberry-hillThe Fight for Cranberry Hill
[Comedy] [Slice of Life] • 9,539 words

It’s winter in Ponyville, and Diamond Tiara is queen of the Hill. Can the Cutie-Mark Crusaders cast her from her snowy fortress?

FROM THE CURATORS: “It’s a happy story about happy ponies doing happy things,” said Ben, and sometimes that’s all a story needs to be.  All of us noted its native sincerity, resulting in a fic which is pleasantly satisfying without being cloying.  Moreover, we found it to be genuinely funny: “The foals’ earnest delivery of war-movie clichés is just the right amount of absurd,” said Horizon, and although Present Perfect was less eloquent, he concurred.  “All the war jokes are amazing,” as he put it.

Read on for our interview, in which Insert Pen Name discusses his standards for what he publishes, waxes nostalgic about his childhood, and reveals how he deals with memes in his works.
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Horse Voice’s “Biblical Monsters”

10 Friday Jan 2014

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Today’s story is a controversial, yet powerful look at a meeting of cultures gone horribly wrong.

biblical-monstersBiblical Monsters
[Tragedy] [Dark] [Human] • 10,947 words

At 3:15 AM, Adams woke me with a loud knock on my front door.

“Put your boots on,” he said when I answered. “There’s a biblical monster in my house.”

FROM THE CURATORS: As a glance through the story’s overflowing comments section will show you, this is a piece which is not afraid to be thought-provoking.  Its final chapters take a swerve from quiet tension into some of the most unflinching Dark fiction in the fandom.  What makes Biblical Monsters remarkable is how effectively it supports that twist.  “Horse Voice did a great job setting up his character and motivations to make the ending a tragically logical inevitability,” Chris said. Benman added: “The clues were there all along.  The core themes and conflicts are constant throughout.”

We all agreed that the story, in Chris’ words, “practically screams ‘literary.'”  The quality of the writing is exemplary.  Benman went even further: “I decided a while ago to limit my FIMFic favorites list to ten stories. This is currently one of them.”

Read on for our interview, in which Horse Voice discusses thematic twists, anonymous villains, and lessons learned while handling controversy.
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GAPJaxie’s “The Arbitrage Of Moments”

03 Friday Jan 2014

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Today’s story is remarkably haunting: a giant, tangled moral conundrum with no easy answers.

arbitrageThe Arbitrage Of Moments
[Sad] [Slice of Life] • 12,168 words

When you have so little, and another has so much, it’s easy to justify theft. The more precious the commodity, the easier it is to tell yourself you need it more than they do. And what is more precious than time?

FROM THE CURATORS: This story is nothing if not thought-provoking — and fittingly, it spurred one of our liveliest debates during nomination. One line in particular (you’ll know it when you read it) was remarkably polarizing. “(That line) literally made me put my tablet down for a minute to think about how correct its speaker was,” Horizon said.  “Any story that forces you to stop and reflect like that is doing something very right.”  Chris disagreed: “I cringed at (that line), but there’s too much here I like to get caught up on it.”

Overall, we were impressed with the story’s compelling premise and the wrenching dilemma of the cast.  “The character actions … and emotional reactions rang true,” Chris said.  “I liked the subtle horror and mystery of it,” Vimbert said.

Read on for our interview, in which GAPJaxie discusses when not to use changelings and reveals the inherent contradictions of Rarity.
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Ebon Mane’s “Tired”

27 Friday Dec 2013

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Today’s story is a moving look at what happens when the story’s over but the characters still remain.

tiredTired
[Sad] [Slice of Life] • 7,033 words

Though the distance between Pinkie Pie and her five closest friends has grown in the half-century since they claimed their Elements, she does what she can to prevent the others from drifting away. It’s small things, mostly: tea with Rarity, a drink with Rainbow Dash, a few words with each of the others. The friendship still makes each day together magic, and she works as hard as ever to bring cheer to all of her friends. When the smiles come less frequently, that just makes each one that much more precious.

FROM THE CURATORS: The fandom is thick with stories about the longing and loss that await the Mane Six with the passage of time, but you don’t have to read much of “Tired” to learn why it’s such an exemplar of the genre: it’s got rare depth and maturity. “There’s no trickery here, no overblown drama, just life’s changes and the difficulties those can bring,” Vimbert said. Horizon added, “I’ve never seen a sadfic so effortlessly sandwich smiles and saudade.”

It’s also packed with strong moments of characterization and exquisite turns of phrase such as “Trivialities move the sun through the sky.” Not a word feels wasted. “The story’s brevity heightens the impact,” Chris said. “It doesn’t weigh itself down … and as a result is utterly moving.”

Read on for our interview, in which Ebon Mane discusses when not to write dialogue, and the convention experience that led to a “grand reconciliation with his mortality.”
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AugieDog’s “In Their Highnesses’ Clandestine Corps”

20 Friday Dec 2013

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It’s hard to know how to categorize today’s feature.  An action-packed spy thriller?  A Blueblood/Rainbow Dash (?!) shipfic?  A smart deconstruction of the James Bond archetype?  It’s all of these and more.

clandestine_corps

In Their Highnesses’ Clandestine Corps
[Adventure] [Romance] • 28,733 words

Prince Blueblood dislikes being secret agent Double-O-Zeta, but since no pony does it better, the princesses won’t let him quit.  Trailing the mad unicorn Green Briar to Ponyville, though, Blueblood runs into Rainbow Dash, already investigating the odd new pony in the area.  She resents this jerkwad of a prince suddenly butting in, and when circumstances force the two to work together, the unexpected feelings they arouse in each other might prove more dangerous than anything Green Briar has planned.

FROM THE CURATORS: This story was an easy choice — there was so much in it to appreciate that our biggest debate during the nomination process was what its strongest feature was. We never did agree:

“I love that the author finds a way to make Blueblood so enjoyable as a protagonist right from the start, without sacrificing his salient points of characterization,” Chris said. “The way he grows through the story feels far more natural than your run-of-the-mill redemption fic.”

“Wow, Zecora paraphrasing a Pinkie Promise. That takes talent,” Present Perfect said.

“Pinkie’s one of the hardest characters in the fandom to write well, and here she is done exquisitely as a cameo role, just as an offhanded little bonus,” Horizon said. “And every moment of the Luna vs. Blueblood scene was a thing of beauty.”

Read on for our interview, in which AugieDog discusses how to sell unusual shipping pairs, psychoanalyzes Discord, and outlines the difference between professional writing and fanfiction.
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