17 Friday May 2019
Posted in Admin
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.
19 Friday Apr 2019
Posted in Features
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.
18 Friday Jan 2019
Posted in Features
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
16 Friday Nov 2018
Posted in Features
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.
Decisions
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 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.”
02 Friday Nov 2018
Posted in Features
Today’s story worries.
Under 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.
12 Friday Oct 2018
Posted in Features
Don’t let today’s story slip past you unnoticed.
The 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.
07 Friday Sep 2018
Posted in Features
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
17 Friday Aug 2018
Posted in Features
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Today’s story aches.
You and Her
[Romance] [Sad] • 7,335 words
[Note: This story contains sexual themes.]
You told me that a young designer from out of town would be coming to stay with us for a few days while she discussed business plans with you. I told you that would be fine, that I wouldn’t mind.
I lied.
FROM THE CURATORS: Relationships are rarely easy. Feelings wax and wane, ebb and flow, and even at their easiest and most effortless, relationships take effort. But maybe you don’t want to put that effort in any more. Maybe it takes less effort to start something new than to maintain something you’ve had for years. Maybe your partner won’t catch on. Maybe they will.
“This story stood out by virtue of sticking with me after reading,” said Horizon in his nomination, “the way the pain from a punch lingers. It’s a blunt, immediate look at the pain of adultery that works almost in a sort of chiaroscuro, contrasting the beauty of their day-to-day life (and Fleur’s denial) with the rawness of the situation.” Others agreed; RBDash47 said it “was skillfully crafted, and yet—and therefore—I did not enjoy reading it at all” and FanOfMostEverything had to admit, “This sort of story isn’t my usual cup of tea. It’s not even in the same cupboard. But I can’t deny that it hits every emotional note dead center.”
Everyone agreed that the author did a fantastic job of bringing a heartwrenching story about a significant other discovering their lover is cheating on them to life. Soge praised its “realistic depictions of cheating, and of a relationship which has progressed beyond the ‘crumbling completely’ stage”; RBDash47 said, “fourths did a great job capturing the floaty, surreal experience of reluctantly confirming your spouse is cheating on you”; Present Perfect said, “while this could have been just another well written story about a dark subject that’s hard to write about, it’s the amount of nuance placed on Fleur’s character that makes it stand out.”
From start to finish, the story’s structure sold the protagonist’s inner turmoil. “The unbalanced nature of the plot itself — the threads left unresolved, the paths left unexplored — function perfectly here to reinforce Fleur’s dazed experience and sense of uncertainty in these moments,” said RBDash47. “We have no idea where she goes from here, because neither does she.” Horizon felt that “the complication and lack of resolution certainly work to sell the messy nature of the situation.”
Read on for our author interview, in which fourths discusses jealous flowers, mid-life crises, and having strong opinions. Continue reading
03 Friday Aug 2018
Posted in Features
Tags
Today’s story will ensnare you.
Of Flies and Spiders
[Romance] [Dark] [Tragedy] • 8,065 words
Glitter was banished from her hive because she’s different: instead of feeding on love, she feeds on anger, fear, and sadness. Ponies are easily fooled and more easily manipulated. Staying undetected and sustaining her dietary needs, she goes through life bringing misery to those around her. All changes, though, when he turns up, tearing down walls built throughout a lifetime.
FROM THE CURATORS: Spiders are a common creepy-crawlie, both in the real world—sorry, Australia—and in fiction. Greek mythology gives us the source for arachnid in Arachne, a master weaver who is transformed into a spider; ancient Sumeria’s goddess of weaving was a spider. In some African and Native American folklore, spiders play the trickster role. In modern American mythology, a certain spider teaches that with great power comes… well, you know. Given all this, it’s appropriate that today’s story features a changeling who sees herself as a spider, weaving complicated scenarios to catch her unwitting prey before realizing she’s been responsible for a great deal of pain and suffering.
In his nomination, Soge called it “a very well executed tragedy” and felt that “the main character is despicable in all the right ways, which only makes the conclusion that much more striking.” AugieDog concurred, finding it a “nicely done tragedy where the character chooses the path that she knows will destroy her.” He also appreciated the author’s decision to show rather than tell: “We follow Glitter’s thought process without the author ever having to make the character articulate it for us. The author trusts us enough to let us deduce what’s going on in Glitter’s head, to let us hope along with her that maybe this will somehow work out, and then to smack us in the head with the reality of the situation at the end.”
Everyone enjoyed wYvern’s “unique take on Changelings,” as Soge put it. FOME appreciated both the quality of the story and its culinary flair: “The central conceit is fascinating and explored well; I especially love how Glitter’s taste for suffering translates to favoring material foods with similarly… distinctive flavors.”
Horizon summed things up as only one who is not a changeling can: “The core canon dilemma of changelings — as we see in Thorax et.al. — is being nourished by devouring emotions, and simultaneously having normal sapient emotional needs for those same emotions (and the relationships and friendships that follow). If this were just about that it would have a pretty solid core, but it takes that and turns it up to 11 by also focusing on a changeling allergic to love. That this makes her an outcast from two worlds sets up a powerful tragedy when she finally finds herself in a position to appreciate it, and doesn’t shrink from the resulting tragedy.”
Read on for our author interview, in which wYvern discusses biochemistry, internal conflict, and analyzing what you love.
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29 Friday Jun 2018
Posted in Features
Tags
Today’s story ticks along to a sweetly chilling conclusion.
Sweet Little Lovely: A Gothic Romance
[Romance] [Dark] • 14,993 words
[Note: This story contains scenes of blood and gore.]
Everyone in their sleepy little town knows that Marvelous, the clockmaker, has eyes for only one mare – the beautiful Little Lovely. Despite her mysterious illness and his amusingly obsessive nature, there’s no question that they make a perfect couple.
But when the truth of Little Lovely’s affliction comes to light, Marvelous begins to realize that her true beauty is … on the inside.
FROM THE CURATORS: This week’s feature makes no bones about its heritage; right in the subtitle, it’s clear what you’re going to get. As Soge said in his nomination, it’s “a really lovely romance story, with genuinely touching moments, interesting characters, and an effective, just-florid-enough writing style that is clearly inspired by 1800s Gothic novels.” Horizon agreed: “The voicing in this is a marvelous style imitation, and the Gothic parts are a compelling enough character drama on their own that in several stretches I forgot I was reading a horror story.”
That being said, astute readers might note the lack of a Horror tag on the story itself, and this may not just be because the story predates the Horror tag—whether or not this was actually a horror story was a matter of some debate among the curators. Present Perfect thought it was an excellent one: “This is a great horror story, full stop, just completely unsettling.” AugieDog had a different perspective; he doesn’t read horror stories, because “they’re too scary. This story, though, I didn’t find scary at all.”
Something all the curators could agree on was “Sweet Little Lovely” managing to require a Gore tag and yet remain almost… wholesome. “The one scene that actually earns that Gore tag is so beautiful and fascinating,” Soge said. Horizon reassures anyone with a weak stomach that “it’s quite possibly one of the most beautiful stories with a Gore tag, and even as a somewhat squeamish person I finished the story over lunch.”
Speaking more broadly, FanOfMostEverything appreciated “that this story’s protagonist is a clockmaker, because this is some beautifully and meticulously assembled prose.” A few curators commented that the setting teeters on the edge of believability within the world of Equestria, but as AugieDog put it, “I’d call it a very Pony story. Because friendship is magic even when your friend turns out to be a sort of—” Ah… that would be telling, wouldn’t it?
Read on for our author interview, in which Mr V discusses prose cameras, gummi artisans, and audio adaptations.
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