Violet CLM’s “Friendship is Physics”

06 Friday Nov 2015

Posted by in Features

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

,

They say you always go back to the classics — and today’s story digs back all the way to Equestrian antiquity.

friendship-is-physicsFriendship is Physics
[Slice of Life] • 3,143 words

Star Swirl the Bearded, exiled by Princess Platinum and worried for his continued survival, sends a letter to Clover the Clever briefly detailing his views on ponykind’s origins, the nature of the physical world, and the future of his species.

FROM THE CURATORS: Many authors have speculated about Equestria’s origins, physics, and mythology, but this story takes an unusual approach: it offers us theories that are deliberately wrong.  “The show has kind of given us the impression that Starswirl nudged about the edges of the whole ‘friendship is magic’ thing but never quite got there, and this does a really nice job of bringing that idea to life,” AugieDog said.  Chris agreed: “Friendship is Physics wowed me with its grasp on how the passage of time can make once-progressive theories seem embarrassingly backwards.”

One thing which caught our attention was the fragmentary presentation of the material.  “Like Lost Cities, this is an archaeological dig where we glimpse a culture from its few surviving artifacts,” Horizon said.  “It feels very much like a piece of Equestria’s historical record, though I’m not sure it’s a story, per se.”  Friendship Is Physics earned easy praise regardless.  “Story or not, I love this,” Present Perfect said. “It’s a fantastic example of in-universe writing. The various myths alluded to feel like serious world-building, for all that Star Swirl’s conclusions are ultimately wrong.”

Right or wrong, the theories in this story are fascinating.  “I love that this is, in its own way, something of a Grand Unified Theory of Friendship,” Horizon said.  But more than that, Chris noted, the ideas are rooted in Earth’s own ancient history. “Star Swirl’s theorizing borrows much of its tone and design from the Greek philosophers,” he said.  “Much as we might look back on Aristotle’s theories today, I can easily imagine Twilight reading a copy of this letter, torn between respect for the first pony to try and form a universal theory of friendship, and cringing at the casual racism or seeming acceptance of grossly inhumane experiments which underpin his writing.”

And that, as Present Perfect summarized, is what made this story so exceptional: “Taking the track of having someone like Star Swirl be cognizant of the world, trying to figure it out, and ultimately come up with a clever yet incorrect idea, is just amazing.”

Read on for our author interview, in which Violet CLM discusses lexicalized appellations, swerving lightning, and the irony of intelligent design.
Continue reading →

TinCan’s “Souvenir”

30 Friday Oct 2015

Posted by in Features

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

,

Today’s story will serve up a tragedy worth remembering.

souvenirSouvenir
[Sad] • 3,355 words

In the midst of Equestria’s most recent age of peace, just after Princess Celestia puts the finishing touches on her latest gift to her subjects, Twilight Sparkle appears with a strange question about an obscure beast. It’s obvious that something else is bothering Celestia’s most faithful student, but what?

FROM THE CURATORS: “I’m not sure what to say about this without spoiling it,” Chris said as he nominated this story — and indeed it’s best approached before reading any spoilers, since it takes some powerful twists from its starting premise.  “There’s some nice misdirection in the early going,” Chris said. “A bit more than halfway through, I discovered I was on completely the wrong track. What the story’s really about is heartwrenching.”  Present Perfect was equally impressed: “I figured it out about halfway through, and then just had to watch in horror as the heartbreak grew and grew.”

That emotional impact was augmented by the story’s presentation.  “This is a real masterpiece of tiny details,” Present Perfect said.  “That Celestia has to piece things together along with the reader helps make everything feel realer than it is.”  Horizon agreed — “this tells a remarkably large story from its single tiny stage” — while Chris offered an example: “I love the fact that things like the condition of the guards’ armor can let us infer so much about the world outside, while the story itself never leaves Celestia’s workroom.”

We broadly agreed that the characters were as compelling as the world around them.  “This is exactly how I imagine Twilight — and Celestia — dealing with a situation like the one they find themselves in, and Celestia’s bit about responsibility near the end tied everything together,” Chris said.  The moment he discussed was one we all found central to the story.  “The bit about responsibility gives this piece nobility, a purpose beyond just tugging at heart strings,” Present Perfect said, while AugieDog found drew a deeper lesson: “The talk of duty at the end is so very, very Celestia.  It shows that she will always have more lessons to teach Twilight. Always.”

Read on for our author interview, in which TinCan discusses bilingual wordplay, Canterlot messes, and the halls of Elsinore.
Continue reading →

Martian’s “The Lost Place”

23 Friday Oct 2015

Posted by in Features

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

,

Today’s story offers a stellar glimpse inside the long road to lunar redemption.

lost-placeThe Lost Place
[Slice of Life] • 3,813 words

The most important day of her young life, the hardest challenge she’d have to face, and she failed… or had she? The thunderous sound, the dazzling light, the surge of magic… then she wakes up in a place bereft of all light and shape and sound, alone…

Sometimes, it just takes a spark to rekindle the light.

FROM THE CURATORS: Reading this story made us unanimously agree on two things: one, that we really dislike stories “starting with the protagonist blinking in confusion at a surrounding sea of featureless darkness,” as AugieDog put it. “They make me purse my lips like I’ve just taken a bite out of a lemon.”  And two, that The Lost Place solidly earned its feature nevertheless.  “It works here because of the context,” AugieDog said, while Horizon’s attention was captured by the sharp prose: “‘If this earns my vote,’ I said to myself while I was reading, ‘it will be the line about setting herself on fire which pushed it over the edge.’  It did, and that was.”

What happened to redeem the opening cliche?  “The author took two well-used tropes and set them together delicately to create something infinitely greater,” Present Perfect said. “Twilight learning to believe in herself, coached by a still-banished Princess Luna? That’s some really heavy, emotional stuff.”  AugieDog also praised that characterization: “The story also gives us a filly Twilight who is definitely on her way to becoming the character we know from the show, and gives us a link between Twilight and Luna early on in Twilight’s career.”  Horizon thirded that: “The story’s at its best when it’s showcasing the interplay between the two characters.”

We were also impressed that the story just kept serving up surprises.  “There was one sentence which brought tears to my eyes … it turned the whole story on its head,” Present Perfect said.  Horizon agreed, noting that “this is a story which rewards the reader’s patience,” and AugieDog summed it up: “It’s a quiet story in which stuff nonetheless happens, and I always like it when authors can pull that off.”

Read on for our author interview, in which Martian discusses amusing wrecks, stellar accomplices, and gas station haute cuisine.
Continue reading →

GhostOfHeraclitus’ “A Canterlot Carol”

16 Friday Oct 2015

Posted by in Features

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , ,

See the softer side of a much-beloved bureaucrat with today’s reader-selected tale.

canterlot-carolA Canterlot Carol
[Comedy] [Slice of Life] • 6,464 words

The business of government never stops, and paperwork never rests, even on Hearthwarming. But this particular Hearthwarming, Cabinet Secretary and tea enthusiast Dotted Line plans to do his level best to see it, at least, take a break. His ponies need to go home to their families, and he, well, he has plans this Hearthwarming.

FROM THE CURATORS: This week’s feature is a little unusual — we asked readers to choose a story from one of our already-featured authors in order to return the spotlight to their vast wells of talent.  Ten nominations and hundreds of votes later, when the dust finally settled, this Hearth’s Warming Eve tale had captured the most hearts.

“Ghost of Heraclitus’ Whom the Princesses Would Destroy is in the Pony Fiction Vault. Twilight Sparkle Makes a Cup of Tea is in the RCL. But this is, I think, the crown to the scepter and robe,” Titanium Dragon said in A Canterlot Carol’s nomination.  “Whether it be Dotted Line’s conflict with eldritch monstrosities inhabiting his chimney, his conversations with his staff that shows that they are true comrades, to the conversation with the Zebrican ambassador about Prince Blueblood’s non-apology, all the way through to Dotted Line’s plans, every part of this is memorable and enjoyable.”  Voters agreed, and so did we: “This is equal parts amusing, thoughtful and touching, and often in surprising ways,” Present Perfect said.  (Bradel, for his part, so enjoyed the story that he recorded a dramatic reading of it.)

While we found the story engaging throughout, one of the elements that we repeatedly singled out for praise was the way in which it built up themes for powerful later impacts. “It’s the ending where this story truly shines, where we see how far Dotted Line’s compassion and dedication extends,” JohnPerry said.  “For a story dealing largely with bureaucratic affairs, this one is surprisingly heartwarming.”  AugieDog noted that this care with continuity extended to Ghost’s later stories: “Read the sequel, too.  Several things that are set up in A Canterlot Carol don’t pay off till An Afternoon for Dotted Line.  I can’t imagine the one story without the other.”  But that’s worth the effort, Present Perfect asserted: “Dotted Line is one of our fandom’s greatest treasures.  I don’t know how Ghost is so consistently entertaining, save that he, too, is a treasure.”

Read on for a special return interview, in which GhostOfHeraclitus discusses approximate peace, legendary tea-pickers, and Ghengis Khan’s naps.
Continue reading →

billymorph’s “Red Apples”

09 Friday Oct 2015

Posted by in Features

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

,

Take a bite of today’s story for a classic tale of culture shock.

red-applesRed Apples
[Drama] • 3,891 words

How much can change in a hundred years? How much can change in a thousand? The day of the Nightmare’s defeat Princess Luna finds herself adrift, a thousand years away from the world she knew. With her home in ruins and Equestria changed beyond all recognition, is there anything left for her when even apples are strange?

FROM THE CURATORS: Back in the earliest days of the fandom, speculation about Princess Luna’s troubles adjusting to the modern world was a common fanfiction topic.  The past few months have seen some resurgence of interest in classic premises — and this modern interpretation was “fun, fun, fun,” as AugieDog put it.  “Red Apples stands out from the pack of ‘Time-Lost Luna’ stories,” Present Perfect added —and Writeoff Association readers agreed, awarding this first place in their August 2015 competition.

One of the factors elevating the story was the vivid and often surprising way in which it portrayed the world surrounding the princess.  “The ways it demonstrates what ‘one thousand years’ means are really gripping,” Present Perfect said, and AugieDog elaborated: “It’s an ode to the power of small details, not just in the construction of an effective story, but in the living of an effective life.” For example, Chris praised its subversion of the all-too-common Luna vs. Dubstep cliche: “It does a great job of showing how even things like music, the universality of which people so often take for granted, can change beyond recognition quickly.”

But we were equally impressed by its handling of its central characters.  “I love that Celestia is trying to help her sister acclimate to things in full Trollestia mode, leading to some great bonding moments,” Present Perfect said, and Horizon agreed: “Luna’s nostalgia is just what this story needed to reconcile the two roles Celestia plays, of supportive sister and incorrigible prankster.”  And that nostalgia, as Present Perfect noted, was itself handled elegantly.  “What Red Apples really does well is get us inside Luna’s head,” he said.  “This is about the second episode of Season 1, but her thoughts are all Season 2 Luna, a clever reconciliation of the two sides of her that few have attempted before.”

Read on for our author interview, in which billymorph discusses cyberpunk dystopias, childhood RPGs, and the abolition of gender.
Continue reading →

RCL’s 2nd anniversary — Vote now!

02 Friday Oct 2015

Posted by in Admin

≈ Leave a comment

Just as a short reminder, we are now entering the last couple of days of voting for the Royal Canterlot Library’s second anniversary feature. Be sure to visit the thread on our FIMFiction group to cast your vote! Currently, stories by previously featured authors Cold in Gardez, Estee, GhostOfHeraclitus, Inquistor M, Kegisak, KitsuneRisu, Skywriter, The Descendant, and xjuggernaughtx are up for consideration, and we have a pretty close race developing, so your vote could make the difference!

Feo Takahari’s “How Equestria Was Made”

02 Friday Oct 2015

Posted by in Features

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , ,

In today’s story, reach back to the fundamental core of My Little Pony: The fertile imagination of horse-loving children.

how-equestriaHow Equestria Was Made
[Tragedy] [Sad] [Human] • 14,778 words

The base and the glass are no different from any other snow globe, but it holds an endless void inside it. When two young sisters jokingly request for it to show them its magic, it gives them the power to fill it as they please. Within that dimension, they might as well be goddesses–but to the world at large, they’re still confused, frightened children.

The younger sister, bitter and lonely, thinks it’s a chance to make a better world than our own. The elder sister just feels responsible for protecting the innocent pastel quadrupeds they’ve created. But can two children really be the goddesses the pony race needs? And when monsters begin to threaten the ponies, what must the sisters sacrifice to create the Equestria they dream of?

FROM THE CURATORS: We speak from experience when we say that this story will surprise you.  “I’ve just never seen a creation fic done like this before,” Present Perfect said.  “I’ve seen humans as princess-goddesses, I’ve seen Celestia and Luna make Equestria, but this is in a league of its own.”

Even though How Equestria Was Made quickly earned comparisons to our previous feature In The Place The Wild Horses Sleep, the surface similarities — children’s imagination letting them construct and enter a magical land of ponies — conceal a wealth of surprising yet smooth worldbuilding.  “Far too often, we see ‘six virtues’ crop up in a creation story and know where things are headed, and yet not once did I suspect that was the path the narrative was taking us on,” Present Perfect said, and Horizon agreed: “The story kept surprising me (in positive ways) with its mythological choices.  The tale of Brunhild and Hearth Flame by itself makes this worthy of a feature.”  Chris cited another of the story’s many novelties: “The entire Nightmare Moon reveal and resolution wasn’t just powerful, it was surprising and original, too.”

But there was more here to like than just clever ideas, such as the authenticity of the children’s portrayal.  “The relationship between the two sisters struck me as very real,” AugieDog said. “The way the two of them come together with all their faults and virtues to create, nurture, and interact with Equestria reminded me of a much more serious version of the ‘let’s pretend’ games my siblings and I used to play.”  Serious indeed, as Horizon pointed out: “It deals effectively with some very adult questions of responsibility.”

What all that added up to was a small fic successfully executing on big themes.  “This is really making me reconsider the relationship between fanfic, reader and author,” Present Perfect said.  And while not every scene worked for every curator, “the ending blew any doubts I had right out of the water,” Chris said. “Here’s an author that mined genuine pathos from a couple of girls making ponies with a magic snow-globe.  That’s amazing.”

Read on for our author interview, in which Feo Takahari discusses flowing stresses, memory lapses, and everything from Lemony Snicket to lemons.

Continue reading →

MyHobby’s “Hyperportentia”

25 Friday Sep 2015

Posted by in Features

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

,

You are going to read today’s story — whether you know it yet or not.

hyperportentiaHyperportentia
[Slice of Life] • 6,161 words

Hy•per•por•ten•tia noun \hī-pər-pȯr-ˌten-t(ē-)ə\

1. congenital fate disorder where the affected receives a disproportionate number of visions, prophecies, or warnings of the future directed at them.
2. severe pain in the butt.

It’s common knowledge among ponies that Destiny is a natural occurrence. Much like a pony’s body, it grows and develops over time. Each pony’s Destiny is as unique and distinctive as their voice. The phenomenon manifests in the physical realm through the appearance of a cutie mark.

Unfortunately, like all natural occurrences, sometimes there’s something off. A misplaced gene here, an excess chemical there, and what was supposed to be true Destiny becomes… aggravating.

So it is with Acacia Tree, the first seer Manehattan has seen in five-hundred years.

FROM THE CURATORS: Reading today’s feature caused something of an epiphany for one of our curators: “This story made me realize that cutie marks and destiny have become old hat topics in recent seasons,” Present Perfect mused. “No one writes seriously about them anymore.” But although the premise may not be groundbreaking, the direction the author took it in certainly was; John Perry called it a “very original take on an old concept.”

As a story about a pony who can see the future but can’t seem to change it, Hyperportentia is “a fun play on Cassandra,” in Chris’ words. While Cassandra’s tale is a very dark one, he went on to explain that in this story, “the fates [were] generally low-key and/or silly enough that it feels like an annoyance rather than a tragedy,” and “the direction felt very much at home in the Magical Land of Equestria.”

In fact, the common theme in all our comments was how at home this story felt in the MLP universe. ” I’ve always liked stories that treat magic as a natural force like gravity or electromagnetism, and this kind of does that by looking at the whole MLP idea of destiny as something that arises from each pony’s genetic make-up,” said AugieDog, while Present Perfect noted that, “From a mid-class Chinese restaurant to a flapper club, to elevated trains, it’s very Earth-like, yet not so far removed from ponies that it’s unbelievable.” But John Perry may have summed it up best: “There’s something I love about the wit and the quick pacing in this story; it reflects the animated city life on display here, making the setting of Manehattan feel integral to the story and not just a background for our characters to dance around in front of. There’s a lot of little moments that make this universe feel very alive.”

Read on for our author interview, in which MyHobby discusses LEGOs, the untriteness of friendship, and why “Acacia Tree” is a perfectly sensible name for a pony who has a prophesy cutie mark.
Continue reading →

Upcoming second anniversary — Now accepting nominations!

24 Thursday Sep 2015

Posted by in Admin

≈ Leave a comment

As it so happens, we are quickly coming up on the second anniversary of the Royal Canterlot Library’s first interview. Yup — two years’ worth of interviews with some of this fandom’s best writers!

We thought we’d do something special to mark the occasion. So, in celebration of 2 years of RCL, we ask you, our readers: For our 2nd anniversary, who would you like to see featured a 2nd time?

For the next week and a half, we are accepting nominations for stories written by one of our previously featured authors, but one different than the story we featured. And what’s more, we’re letting you guys pick. That’s right — you’ll be able to vote for the story you’d like to see us feature for our second anniversary!

Just head over to this thread on our FIMFiction group for details on how to nominate and vote for stories. Voting will close October 4th, so get those nominations in soon!

Inquisitor M’s “Every Mare Needs Her Stallion”

18 Friday Sep 2015

Posted by in Features

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, ,

Secrets lie beneath the surface of today’s story — though they might not be the ones you’re expecting.

every-mare-needsEvery Mare Needs Her Stallion
[Drama] [Slice of Life] • 7,967 words

After Fluttershy threw a tantrum in Ponyville’s marketplace, Rarity invited her over for some good old girly gossip. The Fluttershy that turns up on her doorstep, however, is absolutely not the one she was expecting. Somefilly has a secret and Rarity isn’t above using a few tricks to find out what it is.

FROM THE CURATORS: This story also isn’t above using a few tricks to keep you distracted until the reveal hits — serving some shipteasing from unexpected quarters — but we were too engrossed by the prose quality to mind.  “This is a super-showy piece, dense not just with character drama, but with scenes and looks and touches that weave the tapestry of the central friendship,” Horizon said, and Chris added: “Inquisitor M keeps the focus here tightly on his characters’ emotional reactions and impetuses, sometimes to the exclusion of all else.”

That narrow focus gave this story a chance to dive deeply into the depths of its protagonists. “It’s about the best use I’ve ever seen Inquisitor M make of his ’emotions tightly-clamped’ style,” AugieDog said. “The events of the story, if told any other way, wouldn’t be nearly as powerful.”  Several of us cautioned that that reliance on showing made this story a dense one — “readers with a taste for implication-heavy literature will definitely be impressed, but make no mistake; this isn’t light reading,” Chris said — but for all that, Every Mare Needs Her Stallion was a clean read. “All the buildup to this story was ‘pay close attention,’ but I didn’t feel at the end as if I’d missed anything,” Present Perfect said.  “I really feel like this story has itself wrapped up, even if there’s room for interpretation.”

In the end, it was that combination of comfortable density and depth which impressed us.  “It’s the kind of story that rewards readers for investing in it.  Isn’t that exactly the sort of thing the RCL should be featuring?” Chris said, and AugieDog summed it up succinctly: “One of those rare stories where I find just about every word to be vital.”

Read on for our author interview, in which Inquisitor M discusses half-questions, unshipping, and the great war against chaos and despair.
Continue reading →