Author Archives: RBDash47

Grimm’s “Don’t Open the Door”

14 Friday Feb 2020

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Today’s story lingers like the curling mist in a dark forest.

don't open the doorDon’t Open the Door
[Dark][Horror] • 13,654 words

After an expedition into the Everfree Forest ends in disaster, Applejack and Rainbow Dash take refuge in an abandoned cabin until morning.

This is probably a poor decision, but it’s only one night, after all. How bad could it be?

FROM THE CURATORS: “I don’t care much for horror stories,” AugieDog mused. “But this one does so much right, I found myself really impressed.” Present Perfect thought it was “simply one of the best horror stories I’ve ever read,” and Soge agreed “one-hundred percent” that “this is pitch-perfect horror from beginning to end.”

In his nomination, Present Perfect praised the author’s ability to set a scene and draw the reader in. “The atmosphere is lush and offputting, right from the start. The Lost Cities-style description of the abandoned cabin was a great way to set the tone, and throughout the story, new details emerge that keep things creepy.” AugieDog was similarly impressed by how well POV was handled: “the narrowing from omniscient at the start to alternating close 3rd-person between Dash and AJ for the bulk of the piece was absolutely the right approach to take.”

Everyone was surprised by how well this dark horror fit in with Friendship Is Magic. Soge pointed out that excellent character work played a role there, with the author “putting very well-characterized canon characters into a situation which, with some modifications, I could see appearing in the show proper — and given that the show is dead, that would be extra spooky.” Present Perfect lamented that “so many pony horror stories are basically, well, horror stories inflicted upon ponies,” so he was thrilled to find “this story, beyond the profanity and the image of words carved into a table with a knife, fits very well into canon. This is just another strange beast of the Everfree, more terrifying than the show might have explored, but nevertheless not impossible as a creature that exists in the world.”

“A lot of horror stories fall down for me,” AugieDog said, “when it comes to the monster. But here, the author shows us a monster who is big and horrible and devious but maybe not very smart: a monster who is in every way a character in the story. And the description when we actually get to see the monster didn’t disappoint in the slightest.” Though in true horror story fashion, the reader doesn’t get a perfect image; Present Perfect appreciated that “the monster itself is never fully revealed, its identity never given, beyond just enough details to make it terrifying.”

That careful management of information resonated with the other curators as well (“I love the way that the story plays with what is real and what is not,” Soge said, “in a way that you can never feel confident about anything that is going on”) and allowed for a satisfying conclusion (“a perfect cliffhanger,” in Present Perfect’s words) that still let the readers’ mind run wild. “My favorite part,” AugieDog admitted, “is the ambiguous ending. I really appreciate that the author gives a wimp like me enough evidence about the monster’s nature to legitimately conclude that everything turned out all right. I’m sure that, if I wanted to go back and read more closely, I would discover even more evidence that everything did not in fact turn out all right, but when the author gives me an out, I will happily take it.”

Read on for our author interview, in which Grimm discusses caring about what you write, open endings, and darkness in a cartoon for children.

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Cillerenda’s “Relevé”

30 Friday Aug 2019

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Today’s story is on point.

relevéRelevé
[Slice of Life] • 1,437 words

Relevé: position in which the dancer rises from any position to on one or both feet on at least demi-pointe, or possibly full pointe

She’s done the simple Rainbooms choreo, the square dancing with her family, the silly free-styles with her friends. But today, Applejack wants to try something a bit different, something she’d never expected to be interested in.

You would think attending Canterlot High would teach her to expect the unexpected.

FROM THE CURATORS: “An important story,” Present Perfect mused. “Not just a story about a tomboy trying to be feminine, this is about Applejack trying to break her own mold.” Soge called it “a delightful tale of societal expectations—both internal and external” in his nomination, and FanOfMostEverything likewise appreciated choosing Applejack as the story’s focal character, because “the fact that it’s so unexpected for her only makes the concept work better.”

“She’s getting out of her comfort zone, doing something that no one would expect her to, because it mystifies, intrigues and delights her. Her own joy when she accomplishes just one tiny bit of what she set out to do is palpable,” Present Perfect went on to say. And that joy, that excitement, is tempered by insecurity—Soge saw right away that “her passion for something which she thinks others will misjudge her for … is instantly relatable for people in all walks of life.”

FanOfMostEverything acknowledged how easy it would have been for this particular conceit to fail, pointing out how “stories that draw on the author’s experiences can sometimes feel both invasive and false to the characters used to replicate those experiences,” but he was happy to find that this work “avoids that entirely.” AugieDog agreed that the author completely sold him on “how Applejack might actually find something in the artistry of ballet that speaks to her” and felt it succeeds as “a nice insight into the character … I always enjoy it when authors have such a good feel for one of the show’s characters that they can take that character to a place the show never would and still have it entirely work.”

A classical ballet can mean hours of dancing, but “Relevé” economizes, distilling its story down into just one movement, and that was all it needed. Soge appreciated that “its core conflict is so well built, and the character work is so precise, that it feels much weightier than its paltry word count would suggest.” FanOfMostEverything felt the same way: “It’s brief, but uses what’s there with incredible efficiency. This is a single dance, not a full recital, but the artistry involved is undeniable.”

Read on for our author interview, in which Cillerenda discusses reading above your grade level, the freedom of artistry, and juxtaposition.

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Alphacat’s “Brothers and Sisters”

07 Friday Jun 2019

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Today’s story shows us what happens when the day meets the night.

brothers and sistersBrothers and Sisters
[Slice of Life] • 64,160 words

When Princess Luna goes missing, Private Lucky Break knows there’s more at work than a simple breach of court protocol.

For most, Hearth’s Warming is an occasion to celebrate family and friends, a time for reflection and goodwill to all of Equestria’s residents. But for two ponies, their relationship with the holiday is much more complicated.

Lucky, batpony soldier of the Night Guard, is assigned to escort Princess Luna to the grand reopening of her Night Court mere months after her return to Equestria. Everything goes well at first, until a visitor inadvertently offends the princess. Incensed, she cancels court and sends everypony away. However, when Lucky goes to offer comfort to a distraught Luna, she storms out.

Spurred on by an old wound buried deep in his heart, Lucky strives to mend a bond between sisters that feels all too familiar, and find the missing diarch before her grief consumes her.

FROM THE CURATORS: “OC” isn’t a four-letter word, but you’d be forgiven for thinking so, the way some ponyfic aficionados use it. After all, most people reading fan fiction are looking for more quality time with their favorite characters from the show they love, not the random creations of their enthusiastic fellows. But today’s feature shows how that can be an unfair judgment, with an almost-entirely original cast that’s so well formed and integrated with Friendship Is Magic‘s canon world and characters, you can’t help but become invested in their lives. “It feels so grounded in the Equestria we know from the show that I didn’t really realize until after finishing that the only real canon characters are the princesses,” said RBDash47 in his nomination.

The strong character work was a big selling point all around: “This is a story that thrives on the power of its characters,” agreed Present Perfect. “I was drawn in by Celestia’s quiet angst and the furor bubbling just under Luna’s surface. Sticking it out, I was rewarded with a cast of memorable OCs gathered together in relationships in a way I’ve never seen depicted this strongly in fanfiction before.” AugieDog had the same reaction, “echoing the points about the terrific bunch of OCs we get here. Lucky Break could have easily slipped into ‘Marty Stu’ territory, but the author prevents this by using the mechanics of cutie marks in quite a deft fashion.”

The author’s deft handiwork with taking canon elements from the show and running with them extended beyond clever cutie marks. For all their fan love, “batponies” make only a brief appearance in a single episode pulling Luna’s chariot, and ever since there’s been speculation whether or not they represented a fourth tribe of ponies, some clever Nightmare Night costumes for standard-issue pegasi, or something else. “Something I’ve not seen elsewhere,” said RBDash47. “Batponies aren’t a fourth tribe in addition to earth ponies, unicorns, and pegasi, but instead are simply the nocturnal version of pegasi, and we meet the earth pony and unicorn equivalents as well. The overall population of these ‘nyctan’ ponies is small and largely segregated, only recently returned to Equestria and almost exclusively active at night, so I can roll with never seeing them in the show.” Present Perfect appreciated how the author played with the contrast between dayponies and nightponies. “I can’t say I’m in a position to really comment on the nature of racism, at its core, but I felt like the mistrust and fear directed at the nyctan in this story was at the very least true to the setting. For all that this Equestria is a bit more like our world than like the show, this also fit, because there are so many real-world issues tackled head-on throughout it.”

From top to bottom, this is a thoughtful, well-crafted novel, from the big picture—”the story’s structure is ambitious,” pointed out RBDash47, “with half of each chapter taking place in the present and half taking place in the past, allowing us to make inferences about past Lucky from future Lucky and vice-versa”—to the small—”the author even manages to handle the whole ‘new kid gains an instant foe at school’ thing in a way” that didn’t make AugieDog want to gag, “something that’s really hard to do.”

Read on for our author interview, in which Alphacat discusses trusting your intuition, manipulating dualities, and the importance of revision.

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Everfree Northwest & MythrilMoth

17 Friday May 2019

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The RCL is taking a break today, as we often do on the weekend of a major pony con, and Everfree Northwest is in full swing in Seattle, WA! If you happen to be in the area, please report any sightings of FanOfMostEverything, who managed to escape the RCL reading dungeon room long enough to experience the beauty of the Pacific Northwest. We’d really like to get him back.

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Lets Do This’ “Friendmaker”

19 Friday Apr 2019

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Today’s story looks in a mirror, darkly.

Friendmaker
[Drama] • 8,589 words

“I am Friendmaker!”

Twilight Sparkle is concerned that she may one day go insanely evil, as with Nightmare Moon or Daybreaker. So, knowing Twilight, do you really think for one moment she’s just going to wait for it to happen?

FROM THE CURATORS: A popular trope in science fiction involves main characters getting a chance to face an “evil” version of themselves, whether through a jaunt to a parallel universe as in Star Trek or a visit to a simulated reality as in TRON Legacy or Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Today’s feature uses the magic of My Little Pony to take that conceit to a powerful extreme: rather than coming face-to-face with a vile copy of herself, Twilight deliberately corrupts herself and we get a first-row look at the experience.

“We’re treated to an interesting analysis of what it means to be good, and what could drive people to be the worst that they can be,” said Soge in his nomination, “all through the medium of Twilight discussing that topic with some of the show’s reformed villains.” Horizon was “more than happy to back the nomination up,” and felt that “when Twilight started talking to the friends she’d redeemed, it really fired up.”

“Characterization is the name of the game here, and all involved are written and used very well,” according to Soge, and the other curators agreed. “Discord in particular was quite well done, and his explanation for why he chose friendship was a lovely bonus,” said Horizon. Present Perfect was “impressed by the part-by-part analysis of villainy. Some of the short character pieces, Sunset’s in particular, went in surprising directions.”

Horizon called the story a slow burn, and everyone enjoyed the build to a strong finish. “It all dovetails perfectly into a smart moral, and a real moment of character growth for Twilight,” Soge said, and Present Perfect applauded “the tense standoff at the end” because it “reinforces the theme of how anyone can come to power.” Horizon appreciated its thoughtfulness “in how it presents the Alicorn Amulet’s temptations. The road to Hell is paved with good intentions, indeed.”

Read on for our author interview, in which Lets Do This discusses the draw of Derpy, the power of online publishing, and the staying power of pony.

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MrPeaches’ “Wonka Vs. Applejack”

18 Friday Jan 2019

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Today’s story goes down better than a Scrumpdiddlyumptious Bar.

Wonka Vs. Applejack
[Adventure] [Comedy] [Crossover] • 14,202 words

Zap Apple season’s in full swing on Sweet Apple Acres when a most peculiar visitor arrives — Willy Wonka, world-famous candymaker! Thinking that the apple will be the perfect ingredient for a new line of candy, Wonka tries to convince a hesitant Applejack to part with some! But with Wonka things are never quite straightforward; when interdimensional magical mechanics and a legendary tree enter into the picture, our heroes might have been safer battling Hornswogglers, Snozzwangers and rotten Vermicious Knids!

FROM THE CURATORS: There’s no getting around it: this story came completely out of left field (or perhaps fell from the sky in a Great Glass Elevator). “I was extraordinarily skeptical of this story when it was recommended to me,” RBDash47 said in his nomination, “and delighted to find I had a great time with it.” “Wow,” Horizon said. “At the beginning of this story I was wondering if I’d make it through to the end. By the end of Chapter 5 I had favorited it.” FanOfMostEverything couldn’t resist either: “It took a while for me to warm up to this fic, but once I had, it was melt-in-your-mouth good.”

Everyone agreed that the author presented their audience with a pitch-perfect Willy Wonka. Present Perfect was “absolutely in love with this piece the moment Wonka showed up. It’s truly a triumph of character voicing.” RBDash47 was just as impressed at how “the author succeeded in capturing some essence of Wonka, some spirit of the mad chocolatier, and did a passable job of blending both the movie’s and the books’ interpretations of the character and the Elevator.”

Even better, this larger-than-life candymaker turned out to be a perfect fit for the magical land of Equestria. Horizon felt the author truly nailed the crossover: “It’s got such a gorgeous understanding of the themes and tones of both of its sources. (It’s an E-rated adventure! How often do you see those?) And the way it meshes pony canon, Dahl canon, and original whimsy is stellar.” FanOfMostEverything enjoyed how “the pastel deathworld of Equestria and Wonka’s OSHA-violating whimsy combined in a magnificent blend of wonder, mortal peril, and candy (which, since it’s Wonka, is itself a blend of those first two).” RBDash47 isn’t usually a fan of HiE, but thought “this might be the first ‘human in Equestria’ fic I’ve ever read where not only is the human’s presence not jarring, it feels right.” Present Perfect agreed that “it felt like Willy Wonka was honestly meant to be here and have this adventure.”

In the end, AugieDog summarized the curators’ feelings as effortlessly as the author captured their imaginations: “Unlike your average chocolate Easter bunny, this is solid fun from top to bottom.”

Read on for our author interview, in which MrPeaches discusses big brothers, everyday adventures, and riding bulls. Continue reading →

Lost + Found Features: “Decisions” / “The Unicorn and the Crow”

16 Friday Nov 2018

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From time to time, despite our best efforts, we don’t have a feature ready to post come Friday—but that doesn’t mean we can’t recommend some reading material! We keep track of the stories which passed our approval process but whose authors have proven impossible to contact. We’d like to give these stories their time in the spotlight too, so read on for two RCL-approved tales for your reading pleasure.

decisionsDecisions
By hester1
[Sad][Slice of Life] • 2,818 words

A server waits on six ponies in a restaurant. The diners have drinking contests and discuss social responsibility. The clock ticks ever on and on.

FROM THE CURATORS: Everyone appreciated this story’s attention to detail and excellent use of “show-don’t-tell.” “The more I think about this one, as more pieces fall together inside my head, the more I appreciate the subtlety and power hidden inside what’s apparently a little Slice of Life piece about an evening in a restaurant,” said Horizon. “Piecing together the situation from the details draws you into the story, letting you explore a second layer to the conversation that works more richly as subtext than it would out in the open.”

RBDash47 seconded the nomination: “It’s definitely a fantastic example of show-don’t-tell, and it’s a bonus to me that it’s done in first person; using the waiter’s POV to bounce us between the three tables is a nice framing element.” Present Perfect called it “a masterwork in subtlety and how to tell a story with a scattered focus” and Soge said “it is in looking at how everything suddenly fits together that this becomes something special.” FanOfMostEverything applauded how the story asked “fascinating questions about responsibility and duty that settings other than Equestria can’t pull off nearly as effectively.”

the unicorn and the crowThe Unicorn and the Crow
By Foxmane Vulpequus
[Drama][Mystery] • 128,032 words

Madeleine Crumpet: A world-trotting jeweler with an eye for gems… and pleasant company. Of the stallion persuasion.

Rubyk of Trotheim: A cold noble of the forbidden Equestrian North.

What cause could bring these two unlikely figures together?

FROM THE CURATORS: In his nomination, Horizon felt this story was shockingly underappreciated; at the time, it hadn’t received enough votes to have its ratio displayed, “which is startling, because having read through it this is some pretty high-level stuff … it definitely deserves more attention than it’s getting.” He went on to compliment the story’s style, “languid and stately and modestly archaic … but that style works in synergy both with the fantastic character work and the foreign feel of the setting.” Chris agreed that “it’s not going to be for everyone, but I found it very effective for what it was. It’s the kind of prose that encourages slow reading, but doesn’t demand an unattainable attention to detail — perfect for reading by the fire while sipping at a glass of scotch. And the setting is clever and original, without abandoning the feeling of being an MLP fic.”

Present Perfect loved the character work: “few fanfic authors strive to be this deliberate with their words. By the second chapter (not part), I was hooked, and never failed to be impressed by a character.” Horizon felt the same way, and noted that “as the story goes on, Frost Pane begins stealing every scene she’s in, turning that larger-than-life bombast into a positive, and Madeleine’s inner narration is consistently engaging. The supporting cast is almost uniformly vibrant, and are written sharply enough that I found myself analyzing them in the same way the protagonists did.”

 

Tangerine Blast’s “Under Layers of Dirt and Worry”

02 Friday Nov 2018

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Today’s story worries.

LayersUnder Layers of Dirt and Worry
[Drama][Slice of Life] • 3,598 words

It had been a long day of saving the world, and the usually perky pony wanted nothing more than to collapse into bed.

Unfortunately, somepony’s waiting at Sugarcube Corner.

Pinkie was fine. She just needed to sleep.

FROM THE CURATORS: As FanOfMostEverything points out in this week’s nomination (and Tangerine Blast alludes to later on in her interview), every idea has been done before; it’s the execution that matters. “The hero’s family grappling with the fact that one they love is risking her life is hardly a new idea in fiction; it’s who’s involved that makes this one shine. After all, Pinkie Pie as the imperiled hero? Maud as the hand-wringing family staying up past midnight waiting for her to get home? Now we’re getting somewhere.” AugieDog chimed in to praise the juxtaposition of the premise and the setting too: “It’s one of my favorite sorts of story, actually, the sort that the late, great comic book writer Steve Gerber called the ‘what do you do the day after you save the universe?’ story. This expands on that idea to ask, ‘what do the people around you do the day after you save the universe?’ and that’s a very effective question to ask, especially in the My Little Pony universe.”

A large part of the success of this particular execution of this particular idea has to do with the author’s character work. “This is a striking, unique portrayal of Pinkie, Maud, and their relationship, with some very interesting ideas at play,” said Soge; “Maud is an extremely difficult character to write correctly, but I think this author has done just the thing, and found a unique role for her in doing so. Her frustration at her own inability to ‘properly’ comfort her sister is relatable,” said Present Perfect; “Not only is Maud a hard character to write well, but Pinkie is, too, and the two of them interacting just about creates a third character who is also difficult to write well. Add Mrs. Cake to the mix as the quiet voice of experience, and the story pretty much hits all the character bases that it’s aiming for,” said AugieDog.

But good character work is not enough, and the curators appreciated the story’s other strengths. Horizon pointed out that “this has some lovely and memorable details, like Pinkie falling asleep in the tub, and it’s centered around a compelling problem rarely covered.” Present Perfect also enjoyed that “the source of Maud’s worry is something that’s rarely tackled in either the show or fan fiction.” And FanOfMostEverything summed things up well when he said, “The layers of nuance at work, the sibling bonding, and the resolution make this a much deeper story than its length would indicate.”

Read on for our author interview, in which Tangerine Blast discusses being like Twilight, the slow percolation of inspiration, and fresh perspectives.

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Muramasa’s “The Thief and the Princess”

12 Friday Oct 2018

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Don’t let today’s story slip past you unnoticed.

thief and princessThe Thief and the Princess
[Slice of Life][Thriller] • 3,252 words

In the dead of night, a thief breaks into the royal palace in Canterlot to steal Celestia’s crown. She successfully sneaks through the palace and enters the room where this prize possession is kept, with not a soul the wiser.

Well, save for a certain Princess.

FROM THE CURATORS: “Amazing characterization,” said Soge in his nomination. “It certainly impressed me … casting Twilight in a typical Celestia role, and allowing her to shine in comparison to her mentor by having her take a decidedly Twilight approach to conflict solving.” The other curators echoed his impressions. “The author said they were trying to give Twilight a more mature, serene portrayal and I think they nailed it,” RBDash47 said, and AugieDog chimed in that he’s “always glad to see Twilight acting in her capacity as princess.”

The first character named in the title also drew praise. “A very compelling portrayal of its titular thief, of her craft and her approach to problem solving,” said Soge. “I also love Cerise’s motivation,” Present Perfect agreed. “She wants to become a legend, a fairy tale, if only she can just pull off this heist, the theft of something so precious, most ponies don’t know it exists.” AugieDog appreciated the author “letting us get to know Cerise first, then slipping us over to see how Twilight deals with the situation Cerise has created.”

But there’s more here than deft character work. “What gets me about this one is the atmosphere. It’s extremely well detailed, and palpably tense,” Present Perfect said. “It manages to weave throughout the narrative the tried-and-true ponyfic theme of destiny, and how it can be challenged and re-interpreted,” said Soge. RBDash47 loved “the idea of ‘whatever you are, be a good one’ subverted by an (apparently) negative destiny.” Present Perfect summed things up nicely: “As short as this is, there’s a lot packed into it.”

Read on for our author interview, in which Muramasa discusses cursed blades, constructive criticism, and illegal cutie marks.

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Coyote de La Mancha’s “Twilight Sparkle Was Shot”

07 Friday Sep 2018

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Today’s story starts with a bang.

Twilight Sparkle Was Shot
[Adventure] [Equestria Girls] [Alternate Universe] • 9,173 words

After the reformation of Sunset Shimmer, the Mane Six united their powers against all manner of threats. Then, Twilight Sparkle joined their number, and over time the bonds between the Mane Seven have become stronger than ever.

They have called upon their power to aid their friends, to protect the innocent, and even to defend their world.

Never have they called upon their power out of anger, or to seek revenge.

Until now.

FROM THE CURATORS: Vengeance isn’t a goal typically associated with a hero, especially a hero in the My Little Pony franchise. And yet in this week’s feature, the drive for vengeance that binds together our protagonist and antagonist in a yin and yang of pain feels almost breathtakingly real.

FanOfMostEverything saw this immediately: “It tackles serious issues with the severity they deserve,” he said in his nomination. “For all this story is about violence and vengeance, it handles them in a very pony way, even if most of the cast isn’t technically equine.” AugieDog applauded “how the author neither shies away from that darkness nor takes it all the way off the edge into grim territory. The world, the characters, the themes, they’ve all been shoved way over to the far end of the scale, but they’re still on the scale, are still recognizably Pony.” PresentPerfect was drawn in immediately: “This is a gritty, hard-hitting drama that utilizes tension like a master chef utilizes spice. I was not prepared to be gripped by the shoulders from word one, but I loved every moment of it.”

The story uses this powerful self-assurance to explore something canon has chosen to ignore, in perfect fanfiction fashion. “Its inventive solution to the Two-Sunsets Problem is so simple, I’m shocked I’ve never seen it before,” PresentPerfect said, and AugieDog also praised “the way the story deals the basic question of what happened to the EQG-world’s Sunset Shimmer.” “What I really love is the attempt to address where exactly Sunset’s human-born counterpart has been,” said RBDash47, “and the completely believable character work that went into both her backstory and her reaction to discovering this interloper in her world.”

The deft characterization on display was a highlight for everyone. “The perspective work is also done very well, placing the reader firmly behind a given character’s eyes and letting us appreciate everything they’re going through,” FanOfMostEverything said. RBDash47 “really felt for everyone involved,” and found that “all the characters’ behaviors in this painful situation are completely believable.” AugieDog pointed out “the author is even able to take Fluttershy into this darker world and still have her be one hundred percent Fluttershy—nothing short of impressive.”

In the end, PresentPerfect summed things up neatly for the curators when he said, “This is what I look for in EQG stories.”

Read on for our author interview, in which Coyote discusses the draw of My Little Pony, the importance of research, and the joys of alternate realities. Continue reading →